Waistband construction



June 22, 1948- P. E. FEN'roN WAISTBAND CONSTRUCTION 1mm` Dee. s, 1945IN1/Ewan. Paul E.Fenton.

Patented June 22, 1948 UN ITED,

CONSTRUCTION Paul E. Fenton, Middlebury, Conn., assigner to ScovillManufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of ConnecticutApplication December 3, 1945. Serial No. 632,426

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to a garment construc- I tion and specifically toany garment having an elasticized waist band -throughout its entirelength.

The object of this invention is in the construction of any garmenthaving a completely elasticized waist band and involves the feature ofhaving the elasticized waist band interrupted or cut through with a slotextending down into the garment proper and brought together in anoverlapping manner and releasably held together with fastener elementsand giving preference to snap fastener elements. This is to allow thegarment to have its waist band open up beyond its normal size with lallthe attendant advantages of any garment having an open type waist bandfor purposes of dressing into the same and furthermore preventssubjecting the elastic material in the waist band to any excessivestrains.

'A further object ofthis invention is to provide a garment havingan-elasticized waist band of the above character and wherein afull-length fly front is provided in the front of the garment extendingthrough the waist band and adapted to be detachably secured together asby fastener elements and is of particular use in mens shorts.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l shows a perspective view of a pair of shorts embodying theinvention and showing the full-length iiy front in closed position andsecured together as by snap fastener elements, and

Fig. 2 is a similar view, but showing the outer flap of the fly frontpartially opened to show better the complementary fastener elements.

In garments of this character heretofore wherein a completelyelasticized waist band has been employed they have been generally of twoforms. One form consists of having a strip of elastic webbing attachedto the inside of the waistl band throughout its entire length as bystitching, and having the cloth of the garment in the waist band areaIgather into folds in what is known as a shirred construction. Such isthe type of construction shown in the accompanying drawing. The otherknown form is to employ a hem for the waist band where the latter isalso of the affording only a relatively small opening into the garmentwhen getting dressed with thesame. Also in the Boxer type of shorts theily front opening is of a limited length in View of the fact that aconsiderable length of the y front has been stitched down adjacent thewaist band so as not to extend through the completely elasticized waistband. To overcome these faults it is the purpose of my invention to cutthrough the completely elasticized waist band to afford al1 theadvantages of the standard garments with fulllength fly fronts, and atthe same time to retain the advantages of a completely elasticized waistl at I2 with elastic webbing I3 stitched to the v inside of said'waistband II throughout its entire length as by' upper and lower stitchingsI4 and Ita respectively. The more complete construction ofthefull-length y front opening is best shown in Fig. 2 wherein the underfly iiap I5 has the cloth folded inwardly upon itself for thefull-length of thelfiy front as determined by the bar stitching I6vadjacent the crotch i1 and vertically stitched as at I8. Also it is tobe noted that this folded y front encloses vthe end of the elasticwebbing I3 as at I9 and is permanently anchored there in place as bystitchings I4, Illa and I8. A pair of stud members 20 is attached to thefront face of the under iiap I5, one being positioned in the folded endportion I9 of the waist band proper while the other one is disposed somedistance therebelow.

.The upper or front ily ap 2i is constructed similarly to the under flapI5 wherein the cloth is likewise folded inwardly upon itself for thefull-length of the fly front 2l and stitched in place as by verticalstitching 22, and also enfolding the opposite end of the elastic webbingas at 23 and similarly anchored in place by stitchings It, Ilia and 22.Attached to the underside of the front ily `flap 2i are socket elements24 complemental to the studs 20 on the under flap I5, .and said socketelements are held in position by any of the usual forms of fastenerdevices 25 as shown in Fig. 1 and extending through the material of thefront flap 2| for anchoring the socket in place.

While I have shown only two fastener elements attached to the fly front,it is to be understood that more may be attached if desired, and alsotwo might be placed upon the adjacent ends of the waist band itself.

While this invention has been shown in conjunction with shorts, itshould be understood that it is applicable to various types of garmentsin mens, rwomens and childrens wearing apparel wherein it is desired tohave a completely' elasticized waist band with the advantages of beingopened beyond the normal size and brought together with detachable snapfastener elements.

In a. nether garment having a. waist band, elastic webbing attached tothe inner surface of said waist band throughout its entire length by a.line,

of stitching adjacent the upper and lower edges of said webbing, thecloth of said waist band length of said fly front and stitched there inplace with the upper folded portions enclosing the opposite ends of theelastic webbing, the latter extending substantiallylthe full depth ofsaid folded portions, and complementary snap fastener elements attachedto the ends of the waist band through the folded portion of said ilyfront and the enclosed end portions of said webbing. the enclosedwebbing in said folded portions of said fly front serving to Vreinforcethat portion of the waist' band to whichsaid elements are attached.

PAUL E. FENTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the.

111e of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,079,041 Dryfoos Nov. 18, 19132,023,132 Goldman Dec. 3, 1935 2,060,467 Krein Nov. 10, 1936 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 522,504 Great Britain June 19, 1940

